The trap is in believing our Mind’s stories 😌
Just finished a call and this pops up. It’s exactly the theme of what we were talking about for 2+ hours.
Perfect timing 🙂
These words are from Leela Swann-Herbert:
"The dilemma of the mind is that even when the form is aligned to its correct path in life, the mind continues to chase the shadows, and believe that the stories found in the shadows are real.
We remain prisoners of the mind as long as we believe the mind’s story about our conditioning.
Learning to recognize these stories rather than become lost in them is an ongoing process of self-discovery.
Like Plato’s cave, we have been taught to believe that the shadows are real, that the internal dialog that the mind tells us is original, that it is important, and true.
We think that our stories can predict the future or that they can interpret the past; we think that our stories are filled with what people really mean when they talk to us, that we should rehearse what we think we should say, and that the stories of internal judgment exist to help us become better.
Openness is the windows of our vehicle.
In our openness is where we are designed to take in life in all of its variety, so we can learn about what we are not.
It is through the observation of our form’s experience of our openness that the mind finally gets to do the work it is built for, to become an aware observer of our life.
Instead of identifying with the mind’s interpretation of the shadows, we turn the attention of the mind 180 degrees and begin to observe life as we meet it.
Slowly, with an understanding of the mechanics of openness, we begin to recognize the repetitive nature of conditioning.
We can begin to link up the openness to the conditioning themes and begin to observe the stories, rather than be caught in their shadow realm.
The mind’s role is to observe the body’s experiences, to be present, here, now.
When our attention is on identifying with the mind’s commentaries, we are no longer observing, we are lost once again in the shadows."
[Photo: Cortez Waterfall | Costa Rica]